Yep, the DWC is now eight years old!
The site launched on 26th March 2016, though its legacy stretches back even further, to the old days of Kasterborous, the site many contributors cut their teeth on. Eight whole years feels a bit nuts, considering the seismic changes in the show, in the franchise, and in the fandom; not to mention some changes behind the scenes at the Doctor Who Companion too.
And as we turn eight, it’s pertinent to remember the words of Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor: Who am I?
There’s a line of thinking that that particular question is the heart of every narrative. It’s a compelling theory. Sometimes I agree with it; sometimes I don’t. The truth is probably in between, but it’s hard to allay that mindset, that the world is painted in shades of grey, with what is quite a definitive statement. Do all stories strive to tell us who we are? Really? Isn’t The Robots of Death, for instance, just a fun and magnetic murder mystery? Well, yes and no. Undoubtedly it is those things, but it also tells us a lot about the human condition and our fascination with technology — to the point of self-destruction. But if you want to get caught up in Toos’ headgear and overlook our need for human connections, that’s fine too.
Who am I? That’s a good question for the Doctor Who Companion, with emphasis on the “Companion” because the Doctor’s assistants are there as audience identification figures, so this site hopes to help readers connect with the franchise on a deeper level as well. We want to be your companion.
Being a companion, though, doesn’t mean sitting idly back and supporting everything blindly. This is an important part of the DWC: we have many voices. Of course we do — we have a lot of writers! We don’t have one uniform opinion and will say everything about Doctor Who is wonderful; neither will be decry every era whenever we can because every era is someone’s favourite. We like to tread that aforementioned grey area.
And that way, we hope that means there’s something here for everyone.
We’ve got some cool projects coming up, including one major thing that’s been going on behind the scenes for a little while but which we can’t mention yet. Nonetheless, you’ll hear about it soon. Plus, you’ll see the cool stuff we’ve got planned across Easter.
The DWC has changed quite a bit over the years, but that reflects the fanbase and society as a whole. Either way, it’s nice to look back at eight years’ worth of work and be proud of what we’ve accomplished. With that in mind, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to the DWC, whether that’s writing articles, sending in tips, or chatted in the comments sections.
If you’d like to write for the DWC, please do get in touch with us — doctorwhocompanion@outlook.com — and if you don’t hear back soon, you’ll likely have been caught in our spam filters for some unknown reasons, so please give us a poke in the comments section. We always want new perspectives, new voices, new friends. So get in touch if you want to write one article, regular pieces (news or features), or would like to review some goodies.
